Greece Alexander the Great

Alexander the GreatAlexander was born in 356 BCE. He was the son of a king, the king of Macedonia. Macedonia was a country in the northern region of Greece. The language Alexander spoke was Greek. He was a Greek. He believed in the Greek gods. He shared a common history with the Greek city-states. But Macedonia was not a Greek city-state. It was a huge and powerful country.As Alexander was growing up, his teacher was the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle. He was taught science and mathematics, logic and philosophy, strategy and achievement. He was taught to reason, to question, to act, and how to succeed.When his father died, and Alexander became king, he decided to expand Macedonia into an empire. His plan was not entirely military. One of his goals was to spread Greek culture and share Greek achievements in medicine and in science. He wanted everyone to speak the same language so they could more easily share knowledge. He wanted everyone to use the same system of money, so that trade would be encouraged.Everywhere he went, he introduced Greek art and literature, science and medicine. Since his goal was not only to unite, but also to teach, he did not destroy the people he conquered unless they fought back. He allowed conquered tribes to run their own countries as long as they accepted Greek ways. Many people, however, did not wish to be conquered. They fought back with everything they had. Those who fought back died. Alexander never lost a battle.A Quick Glance at Alexander the Great• Became King of Macedonia at age 20• Marched for 11 years, covered over 20,000 miles, and never lost a battle• United an area of over 22 million square miles• Set up a common system of currency for the entire known world• Made Greek the common language• Established 70 new cities and named them all Alexandria after himself• Spread Greek culture to the entire known worldAlexander died young. He had been boating in a marsh, for fun. Shortly thereafter, he became quite ill. Some historians believe that he probably was bitten by a bug and contracted malaria. Today, doctors can treat malaria. Over two thousand three hundred years ago, people did not have the medicines we have today. Weakened by fever, he also contracted pneumonia. Thousands came to see him while he was ill. He died.Thousands of books have been written about Alexander the Great. His methods of fighting, combined with the fact that he conquered the entire known world, and spread the literature and myths of the ancient Greeks everywhere, made him famous.Questions:Name two things Alexander the Great wished to accomplish when he set out to build an empire.1.2.Did he accomplish the two things you selected?